wync

How to Recruit Star Employees, example #1

A very cool, innovative recruiting effort with a personal touch by Red 5.

Vimeo: Taking Video from Commodity to Community

Hung out with my good buddy last weekend. Jon is one of those rare people with whom I have an endless number of things to talk about. Which is fortunate, because he talks a lot. :) Jon has a really cool job running Business Development and Marketing at CollegeHumor. Those who know him know that there is no better person in the world for that job.

One cool thing he showed me was Vimeo. The best way to describe it is a video version of Flickr. Vimeo really gets how take a relative commodity, streaming video, and build a great community around it. The site doesn't focus on stolen clips, but instead on interesting original user-generated content. The feel of the site is much warmer, more creative and cooler than the bigger players. To immediately see how different it is from a site like YouTube, check the comments on posted videos. YouTube comments seem to almost always be negative, poorly written and rude. Vimeo's comments are positive, witty and helpful.* It is just a much better vibe and cooler product. The guys at Connected Ventures have, once again, done a great job.

In the meantime, here are two Vimeo clips of his trip that Jon uploaded:

Matt tours the Stanford d.school on Vimeo

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, at night, just after it rained. on Vimeo

* Hey Jon, you should upload your "Stuck in the Elevator" clip to YouTube so we can do a comparison of the types of comments generated by the two sites.

More on the Multi-Touch Display

More on the multi-touch display. I want one.

[via Reemer]

The Potential of the iPhone's Multi-touch

So I'm sure you have all seen the iPhone and it's unique multi-touch interface. For those of you who haven't, check out this CBS News Video. But the demo there just scratches the surface. Check out the movie below for some of the very cool things you can do with a multi-touch system. Potential, perhaps, for a groundbreaking Mac multi-touch tablet?

iPhone Concept

Well, the big Apple announcement is coming tomorrow. For those of you who just can't wait, here's an iPhone concept: Great production value, though I have no idea how you are supposed to practically use a double-flip phone.

Cool site design

Happy holidays, everybody. Check out Wisdump's Top 7 Freshest Designs of 2006 for some very cool websites.

I Need This #3,224: Air Mattress

This air mattress by Janjaap Ruijssenaars uses a matching set of repelling magnets, built into the bed and the floor below, to support 2,000 lbs. It's a steal for $1.5 million.

[Via 37 Signals]

Ugly is the new Beautiful

My good buddy Jon sent me a great link continuing a recent theme of success through ugly design. The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites has some nice insights. For example, an ugly design conveys a very powerful message:

The idea of an ugly website could present a positive message never crossed my mind. Yet the fact is, ugly websites do have the ability to present the perfect marketing message. What is that message?

You can trust us. We are a family run business and do not employ a marketing team. Our website is simple, but functional. Most importantly, our goal is to serve our customers, not necessarily learn HTML.

I don't think that ugly sites are necessarily "functional" (look at MySpace, it's neither pretty nor functional), but I do agree with the notion that ugly design has the potential to convey a powerful message of authenticity.

Cut & Paste Graphic Design Battle 2006

Last week I went to the Cut&Paste graphic design battle in San Francisco. Above is a picture from the event. It was pretty intensely cool. Check out the event description from the website:

Cut&Paste is the live digital design competition that pits eight of their city's best graphic designers against each other in an elimination battle of creativity, technical expertise, and wit. The competitors will work live on stage, in front of an audience and panel of expert judges. An MC will host the festivities and a soundtrack will be provided by hometown favorite DJs .

Here is a video of the event by Cool Hunting:

Microsoft's iPod Killer, the Zune, Sucks

Recently, Microsoft introduced the Zune. For those of you who haven't heard of this product, the Zune is supposed to be Microsoft's "iPod Killer". Engadget installed the Zune with horrendous (ableit humorous) results. [Thanks to reemer for the link]

It amazes me how you could completely mess up such a high-profile product launch. Consider how much money and effort has been thrown into the development of this product. Doesn't anybody try these things in advance??